Page 94 of Trapper Road

Finding the man, however, is trickier than I expected. If there’s one thing that’s clear in my efforts to track down Josiah, it’s that he definitely doesn’t want to be found. Unfortunately, in this day and age becoming completely untraceable is nearly impossible. I should know. I spent years trying to hide from my past — moving towns, changing names, erasing all traces of our past, creating dead ends.

Even with all of that, Melvin was still able to find me.

In the same way, I’m able to find Josiah. It’s not easy; I have to give him credit for his efforts. It takes two of J.B.’s best cyber techs, but eventually I have an address.

I pop my head through the connecting door. “I’ve got to talk to someone from the church about Juliette,” I tell them. “I’ll be back in a while.”

“How long?” Connor asks from under the covers.

I shrug. “Maybe a few hours?”

He pops his head out and squints at me. “Okay if we go to the coffee shop?”

My instinct is to tell him no, that it’s safer if they stay in the motel. But they’ve been cooped up here for days; it isn’t fair make them suffer because off my own paranoia. Besides, I’ve been to that coffee shop and know the owner. I feel safe letting them hang out there. “Keep your phones on you,” I remind them.

Vee pulls a hand out from under the cover and waves her phone in the air. “Done.”

28

CONNOR

The knock on the motel door is so unexpected that Vee and I exchange a glance before I get up to answer it. Mom left a while ago, and it’s not the secret knock she uses to let us know it’s her. I can’t think of anyone else it could be. I keep the chain in place and glance out the peep hole.

It’s Willa. She looks like she’s been crying.

I fumble with the chain and pull open the door. I’ve barely even gotten her name out when she falls into my arms. My mind begins to race, playing through all the worst-case scenarios that could have caused her to be upset.

“Hey,” I say, holding her. “It’s okay. What’s going on? What happened?”

She pulls her head back to look at me. Tears gather along her eyelashes, making her eyes seem even larger and brighter. Her chin trembles. “It’s Juliette.” She struggles to get the name out. “They’ve found the guy who took her. He-he…” She chokes back a sob. “He confessed to killing her this morning.”

She falls against me once more, her shoulders heaving. “I’m so sorry,” I breathe, wrapping my arms around her. I have no idea what else to say, and so I just repeat the same thing again.

I meet Vee’s eyes across the room. She’s already pushed up from the bed. “How did you find out?”

Willa swipes at her eyes and takes a shuddering breath. “That’s why we had to leave the party early last night. Mandy got a text from her mom that the police wanted us to come down to the station to ID him.”

Suddenly I feel like an asshole. Willa had taken off suddenly the night before, without much explanation. I’d been super disappointed. A part of me had wondered if her interest in me had been an act and she’d just been stringing me along.

But, of course, I should have known better. Willa isn’t that kind of person. She’s too kind and sweet. I should have realized that she would have had a good reason to leave. I’m angry at myself for being uncharitable toward her. I’ve just had so many people fail me in life that I’ve come to expect it.

“I wondered where you’d gone,” I tell her.

Her cheeks flush. “I’m sorry,” she says. “It was just all so unexpected — to suddenly learn there was news in Juliette’s case.”

“Of course,” I tell her. “What happened?”

“It was him. I knew the minute I saw him.” She shakes her head and bites her lower lip, her chin trembling. “Then this morning we went to Juliette’s house to visit with her parents and that’s when we found out about the confession.”

I take her hand. “I’m so sorry. That must have been horrible.”

“It was. And then everything with your mother…”

I frown. “What about my mom?”

Her eyes go wide. “She didn’t tell you about the interrogation?”

“Interrogation?”

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